Kozhikode: Vishu festival fever grips streets

People throng SM Street for last-minute purchases on the eve of Vishu on Saturday. (Photo: DC)

Kozhikode: With the city all set to celebrate Vishu in all its grandeur and charm, the police is on with safety, traffic and security measures to ensure a peaceful festival on Sunday. The security has been heightened at the city beach, the most endearing leisure spot ready to receive the thousands of holiday revellers. Assistant commissioner (traffic) Raju P.K. told DC the entire available strength of the force had been deployed and special patrolling teams are already in action.
"To deal with the traffic snarls we have also employed the bike patrol,” he said.

“Special traffic restrictions are in place for the last few days.” The Mananchira Maithan, the leisure spot in the middle of the city where city dwellers take rest after a roam across, also witnessed a high rush of the citizenry. The busy ‘SM Street’ market also witnessed a massive flow of buyers Saturday afternoon. “The street was jam-packed with people like never before,” said a shopkeeper. The recent decision of the government to curb the entry of vehicles inside SM Street has enabled them to cruise through peacefully.

All streets are filled with loud calls of vendors putting in best efforts to sell their goods amidst the crowd thronging in front of charming shops and around tricky street vendors. Meanwhile, SM Street also was caught in an uproar against the brutal rape and murder of the 8-year-old Kathua girl. Two organisations, the Kerala Gazetted Officers’ Union and the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangam, held simultaneous protests at the entrance of ‘SM Street’ in the evening against the brutality.